28 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



poses. The country people make them into 

 waistcoats, chest-protectors, etc. The fur from 

 the face and ears forms an admirable body, either 

 natural or dyed, for certain trout-flies, such as the 

 'rough olive dun,' 'blue dun,' 'sedge flies,' etc. 

 The hind-feet are most useful for oiling guns 

 and such - like articles. They were in former 

 days much used by those ladies who preferred 

 to supply the complexion which they lacked by 

 a liberal use of the rouge pot ; and the bones 

 of the hind-legs, when scraped and polished, 

 are capable of being converted into very hand- 

 some cigarette-holders. So, all things con- 

 sidered, a hare may be said to be a most useful 

 animal. 



Besides hunting, coursing, or shooting, various 

 illegitimate methods are employed in capturing 

 hares, most commonly that known as ' wiring,' to 

 my mind detestable in every sense of the word. A 

 person well skilled in setting a hare-wire can make 

 pretty certain of success. It is, however, a practice 

 usually confined to the poaching fraternity, who are 

 far more skilful in the use of a wire than keepers. 

 An experienced eye can very readily detect 

 the difference between a poacher's and a keeper's 

 wire, whether the latter is set for hares or rabbits. 

 An old hand can utilize a bramble with nearly 

 as certain effect as a wire, and with far less fear 

 of detection, always provided that there happens 

 to be a bramble growing near enough to the run 

 of a hare for the purpose. It is somewhat difficult 



